NACHO NOVO helped Ton to a vital point – then revealed he could barely believe he lasted the full 90 minutes.

The former Rangers hitman enjoyed a solid debut against table-topping Accies and was unlucky to see a fine drive crash off the bar after only 10 minutes.

Anthony Andreu gave the visitors the lead in the first half but a terrific Michal Habai header earned rock-bottom Morton a draw – and Novo admitted the game had taken it out of him.

The Spaniard said: “Trust me, I look 85 years of age now!

“If I’m honest, I never thought I’d last the 90 minutes but I’m glad I did.

“And as for my shot off the bar, I really thought it was going to go in.

“It’s disappointing we didn’t get the three points because we should have been 2-0 up at half-time. And It was a great goal from Michal for our equaliser.”

The game was just two minutes old when Novo issued a statement of intent by setting up strike partner Habai but his dig was superbly tipped over by Hamilton keeper Kevin Cuthbert.

Eight minutes later Novo tried his luck after a Stephen Stirling knockdown but with Cuthbert beaten, the woodwork denied him a dream debut.

The home side tested the upright again in 21 minutes when Tomas Peciar nodded against the bar from a fabulous Dougie Imrie diagonal ball.

And Accies made them pay after 33 minutes following a short corner.

Mickael Antoine-Curier had a header hacked off the line but Andreu was there to ram the ball home.

Novo had another chance at the start of the second half but Hamilton skipper Martin Canning produced a superb block to keep his side ahead.

That lead soon vanished though as Ton squared it after 70 minutes when Habai rose to power a header high beyond Cuthbert from a fine Peciar delivery.

Morton manager Allan Moore said: “I thought we deserved more than a point. Nacho hit the bar, we had one cleared off the line and there was another header off the bar in the first half.”

Accies player-boss Alex Neil said: “It was one of the scrappiest games I have ever been involved in .

“We didn’t play great football ourselves and it was a poor spectacle.”

Dumbarton 1 Dundee 4

PETER MacDONALD grabbed a match-winning double for Dundee but gaffer John Brown sang the praises of hit-kid Craig Wighton.

The 16-year-old striker came off the bench to terrorise Sons, who had Colin Nish sent off, before setting up the final goal for Gavin Rae.

Brown said: “Craig is only 16 but his touch and awareness is second to none. Boys like him are the future of the club. He scored a hat-trick for Scotland Under-17s during the week against Slovenia so he’s doing well.”

Dundee were on top from the whistle but the closest they came to a first-half goal was a 35-yard effort from Craig Beattie that hit the bar.

But Dee finally opened the scoring four minutes after the break when MacDonald’s 22-yard free-kick was deflected past Jamie Ewings.

Nish, who got a first-half booking for an elbow on Declan Gallagher, picked up a second yellow on the hour and 10 minutes later Ryan Conroy fired home Dee’s second.

MacDonald made it three from the spot when Paul McGinn fouled Jim McAlister just inside the box.

Sons sub Jordan Kirkpatrick grabbed a consolation in 77 minutes before Wighton set up Rae late on.

Dumbarton boss Ian Murray said: “The red card changed everything.”

Alloa Athletic 0 Falkirk 0

PAUL HARTLEY praised Scott Bain for some stunning saves – then admitted he won’t stand in the keeper’s way when he wants to leave Alloa.

Watching Blackpool star Barry Ferguson, who was on a scouting mission to Recreation Park, could not fail to have been impressed by the Scotland Under-21 squad man who helped earn his side a fifth clean sheet in nine games.

Phil Roberts, Rory Loy and Blair Alston all had good efforts kept out by the ex-Aberdeen youth in the first half. Boss Hartley said: “We’ve said for two-and-a-half years now how good Scott is but I think he’s getting better.

“He’s only 21 yet he’s played over 100 games. Not many young keepers play at this level week in, week out. Many of them are substitutes.

“I wouldn’t stand in his way if someone came in for him – we are not a club that can stand in people’s way. He wants to go full-time and that day will come.”

Having kept Falkirk at bay, Alloa should have grabbed a late winner when Ryan McCord crossed into the box for Jason Marr but he headed his effort down into the ground and over.

Falkirk boss Gary Holt said: “It was a battle so a big well-done to my boys for standing up to it. Their keeper did very well.”

Queen of the South 1 Cowdenbeath 1

JIM McINTYRE last night admitted Queens fans were right to give him pelters before a late Andy Dowie leveller rescued a point.

Sections of the crowd booed when the gaffer replaced top scorer Iain Russell with Gavin Reilly midway through the second half as the home side chased the game.

Dowie’s header from an Ian McShane corner in 85 minutes was enough to quell the unrest as Queens narrowly avoided losing three games on the spin.

McIntyre (right) said: “Fans are the same at any club and the bottom line is results haven’t been good enough this season. I’m the first to put my head above the parapet and say we should be better than that.

“It’s my responsibility to win matches and I’m there to be shot at. I didn’t think Russell was playing well so I made the change.

“We had great success in winning promotion and the Ramsdens Cup last year but this league is notoriously difficult. I still believe we should be better than we are and we will climb the table.”

Cowdenbeath passed up three clear-cut chances before they took the lead in 11 minutes.

The home defenders backed off when Greg Stewart took possession on the right of the box and he rifled in a low shot that keeper Callum Antell fumbled into the net.

Kane Hemmings had a shot saved and pulled another wide as Beath took command. They looked on course for victory until Dowie pounced to equalise. The defender then almost went from hero to zero with a shocking passback but Chris Higgins saved his bacon by blocking Stewart’s shot on the goal-line.

Central Park boss Colin Cameron said: “We should have put the game to bed with the chances we had in the first half.

“My players are in there feeling like it’s a defeat but it’s our first away point so we can build on that.”